Gibsons Puzzle Lucky Dip

One of my favourite hobbies is solving jigsaw puzzles. I do sometimes find them quite stressful, but at the same time, very satisfying when I find the missing pieces. I probably do an average of 4 – 6 puzzles a year. Recently, I’ve done more than usual as I bought three packets of Gibsons puzzle lucky dips. In total, I have 9 different puzzles to do. It didn’t take me long to complete them all; a 1000 piece set will probably take me 3 or 4 evenings.

Gibsons have launched many types of lucky dip boxes. I chose the three puzzles (come in three sizes which could be 100, 500 and 1000 or 250, 500 and 1000 etc.) for £16. There was one time, I bought three 1000 puzzles for £20. I’ve lost count of how many lucky dip boxes I’ve bought in total. I tend to buy in bulk to save postage and take one out when I have the time to do it. Once I have completed the puzzle, I tend to keep it for a couple of months, before I bag it and donate it to charity.

These lucky dip puzzles don’t come in their boxes, hence it is not easy to sell and some pieces may be a bit crushed or bent. Also, they don’t come with their puzzle pictures. Most of the time, I have to search for the picture via Google and print it out or view it on my iPad. Most of the puzzles from my lucky dips are discontinued, hence sometimes it is not easy to find the picture. Do note that if any pieces are missing from your puzzle, Gibsons will not replace them nor entertain my email. So far, I have one puzzle missing at least 9 pieces. So it is down to luck. If you asked me if I would buy them again, I would say yes. It is a cheaper way to buy a new thing and I like the feel of new puzzles. I do buy used puzzles from Charity shops that come with boxes, but sometimes they can feel old or quite dusty to the touch. Of course, the disadvantage of buying a lucky dip box is that it is quite hard to sell without boxes. I’m not sure whether people would want to buy them without boxes as I have not tried them.

Nevertheless, these are the 100, 250, 500, 1000 and 2000 puzzles I have completed. I did more than those listed below, but I did not take any photos of them like the Aquarium jigsaw puzzle with 1000 pieces.

This Calling His Sleigh jigsaw puzzle with 2000 pieces is the biggest I have ever completed. It took me two days before I found the picture and nearly 8 days to complete it during the Christmas period.

This London Street jigsaw puzzle with 1000 pieces is one of the most difficult puzzles I have completed as the picture is quite blurred. It took me about 4 days to complete.